Sports Chief Charged With Stealing

ATHENS – A former President of the National Youth Center of Aghios Cosmas, in southern Athens, has been charged with embezzling at least 800,000 euros from the group in one month alone.

The name of the accused was not given, a common practice in Greece which has strict privacy laws unless the alleged wrongdoer is well known or when the media feel like reporting the identity.

Investigators are also trying to determine if the accused stole more after employees complained they hadn’t been paid for months and didn’t know where the money went. Greek workers often go unpaid for months or years but rarely complain fearing they’ll never get the money.

The Deputy Sport Minister who received the complaint, Yiannis Andrianos, referred the case to the Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE), which discovered the shortfall.